Proximus customer on holiday surfs the entire Web after the abolition of roaming costs

31/08/2017

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roaming costs disappeared, data volume increased

Proximus customer on holiday surfs the entire Web after the abolition of roaming costs

31/08/2017

Thanks to the abolition of roaming costs in the European Union, Belgians now feel less inhibited about making calls, surfing and sending SMS’s when on holiday. This is evident from figures released by Proximus on telephone and data traffic this summer. The use of mobile data displays a particularly steep increase, while the number of calls and SMS’s has also risen sharply compared with last year.

Six times more mobile data than in 2016

The most notable increase is in the area of mobile data traffic. More and more customers are surfing while on holiday and using their favourite apps as they do at home. This means that data usage by Proximus customers in de EU multiplied six-fold in the months of July and August compared with the same period last year.

The figures follow the same trend as the recent figures from Scarlet, which decided back in May 2016 to scrap roaming costs. After one year, the Proximus subsidiary has seen average mobile Internet usage abroad quadruple.

Text traffic (SMS) has also increased sharply since the disappearance of roaming costs. Compared with the same period in 2016, Proximus has recorded a doubling of the number of text messages in July and August.

Finally, the number of foreign calls within the EU has risen by 30%.

Not worried about higher bills anymore

Roaming usage by Belgians in the European Union has been on the rise in recent years. Last year, Proximus significantly reduced roaming costs in line with a series of changes to European legislation. That decision also quickly led to an increase in data consumption and telephone traffic.

Nevertheless, roaming charges did pose an obstacle for consumers over a long period of time, causing them to fear higher bills. The abolition of roaming costs seems to have finally put a stop to this. Thanks to this measure, Proximus customers can now call, surf and send SMS’s within the European Union (+ Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) without any hassle and without any extra roaming costs. Customers who have subscribed to the most recent Proximus offers, can enjoy free and unlimited use their favourite app all over Europe.

Stay connected everywhere at all times

The fact that mobile data traffic abroad has exploded, in particular, since the disappearance of roaming charges is hardly surprising. Over the past few years, mobile data consumption has also increased exponentially here in Belgium. People want to stay connected more and more and are using their smartphones more and more intensively to share photos and videos as well as for music and TV streaming, etc. Almost 70% of Proximus mobile customers use a smartphone, a rise of 10% over the last 18 months.

It shows that the abolition of roaming costs is meeting the changed expectations of consumers, who want to be able to connect to the Internet at any time, anywhere and from any device. Proximus has already responded to this by providing more data volume in its products and now has a suitable offer for everyone’s needs and requirements.